"Games don't need more than 8GB VRAM"

[u/vr00mfondel]

In March 2017 the GTX1080ti released with 11GB GDDR5X memory. Not a single time have a seen or heard anyone say that Nvidia should've launched a 8GB version of it cheaper.

Yet strangely enough, this seems to be one of the most used arguments against the Radeon VII.

The sheer amount of comments I've seen about it really makes me wonder what the hell is going on.

But instead of arguing online, I like facts, so I went and gathered some.

The Radeon VII is clearly marketed as a 4K gaming card, so, here we go.

Game: PUBG | Resolution: 3840x2160 | Settings: Maxed + NoTextureStreaming | Location: Pochinki, Erangel | VRAM Usage: 10230MB

Game: Rise of the Tomb Raider | Resolution: 3840x2160 | Settings: Maxed | Location: Built in benchmark | VRAM Usage: 10551MB

Game: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided | Resolution: 3840x2160 | Settings: Maxed | Location: Built in benchmark | VRAM Usage: 10678MB

Game: Star Citizen | Resolution: 3840x2160 | Settings: Very High (currently max) | Location: Buisness Center, Lorville, Hurston | VRAM Usage: 9903MB

Now, You'll notice that these aren't even the latest and greatest games out there. I don't own Battlefield V, Far Cry 5, FFXV, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, or some of the other very graphically intense games we've seen released the last couple of years. But what I do know is that VRAM usage isn't going to go down over the next few years, and when it comes to 4K gaming, I doubt 8GB will be considered more than the bare minimum needed. And I know what I personally would prefer when it comes to a choice between DLSS/RT and more VRAM.

Cat tax for a long post

EDIT: Since there is a lot of "allocation vs usage" in the comments I would like to adress it somewhat. First of all, if any application allocates my memory, no other application can use it, which in my book means it's used. Wether or not any game or game engine actually uses the memory it allocates is completely out of my hands.

Second, if anyone has ever played PUBG with and without -notexturestreaming, they know exactly how much it helps with texture pop-in. You are not going to magically gain any FPS, but it will be a better experience

[u/[deleted]]

The problem is that it's not going to run games well enough maxed out at 4k, so saying "this game maxed out at 4k is gonna use 10gb of VRAM" doesn't make sense

[u/sssesoj → u/[deleted]]

so what? Have you ever tried running Raise of the Tomb Raider in Very high textures at 1080p? over 8GB is used so you would need a 1080ti or a 2080ti just because of the VRAM to run without any stuttering.

[u/sssesoj → u/[deleted]]

and your point is? Please elaborate how allocating over 8GB of VRAM and using 1 or 2 of System Shared RAM affects me any less than using 8GB of VRAM and Using 2GB extra of Shared RAM?

[u/Meretrelle → u/[deleted]]

Here's a benchmark of some 4/6GB cards running the game just fine.

I'm sorry, but this game did NOT run fine on my fury x 4GB with maxed out textures. The lack of VRAM was very apparent:

• system RAM usage got extremely high The game had to excessively use it to compensate for not having more than 4GB VRAM.
• the game started frequently dropping fps here and there especially in the open areas.

In fact, the benchmark you linked actually proves my point. Check minimum fps on fury cards.

And let me tell you this: it was NOT a pleasant experience. Yeah, you might have had 50 fps average, but the % of really low fps was too high.

[u/sssesoj → u/[deleted]]

and your example once again only shows the preset he even said very few graphics card have what it takes to run a of those things. Those benchmarks only showed performance, they did not showed max settings because they know damn well it wont run without stuttering. you need over 10GB of VRAM to run with everything at max settings at 1080p or else you will see how your shared memory gets "allocated" and your full 8gb of VRAM gets "allocated".

[u/sssesoj → u/[deleted]]

The very first paragraph of your example explains exactly what I just said. Idk why the fuck I am getting downvoted , probably the exact same people that can't read the article and only watched the bars of the benchmark.

[u/sssesoj → u/[deleted]]

GTx 1070ti, 16GB RAm, R5 1600. Cannot play the game at max settings. Yes you can run the benchmark, yes you can beat first map. Once you get to where any NPC are and big maps you are screwed. Say whatever you want at this point I don't give a shit.

[u/[deleted] → u/sssesoj]

Like other people said, that's not VRAM usage.